The distinct separation of the valley of branches and the jungle ahead was clear, and what needed to be done to reach the jungle was even clearer.
"You're really going to make me jump, aren't you…?" He sighed to himself.
Standing at the very edge of the last, far-reaching branch, a vast space devoid of any footing sat between his position and the cliff of the verdant jungle beyond. If he failed his daunting leap, the harrowing chasm was awaiting below.
Well, no point in dragging things out, right? He thought.
Taking a breath into his lungs, he got a small running start before jumping from the branch--slipping as the very end of the brittle limb snapped off the moment he pushed from it.
"Shit--!" He called through his gritted teeth.
His stomach dropped into harrowing depths as the feeling of utter weightlessness took hold of him. There was no way he could reach the rocky, moss-covered edge of the awaiting jungle as he flailed his hands nonetheless.
With the absence of anything below the soles of his fluttering feet, there was only one path to salvation.
"Araphel: Inverse Hand!" He yelled out at the top of his lungs.
Summoned from his body, the shadow-born limb stretched out like a flung rope, latching onto the side of the cliff as his position was secured.
Though he wasn't at the top yet, 'Inverse Hand' was merely his anchor while he himself swung harshly against the stone-made, rigged side of the barren cliff.
"...Close one," he sighed out.
Looking back while he remained tethered by the dark limb, he gulped as he was surrounded by utter darkness and the roots of the colossal trees.
The shattered limb of wood seemed to be falling in slow motion, gliding downwards for a seeming eternity as the darkness revealed no limit to its depth.
"Well, I'll just count myself lucky for now…" He muttered to himself.
With that heart-stopping event waking him up, he climbed up the rigged cliff without much trouble, surmounting it as he dragged himself onto the nature-laden terrain he had aimed for.
As he stood back to his feet, he took in a breath at the scenery he found himself in.
Unlike the white-leaved forest, or the maze of branches, the new biome was inhabited by trees of many colors and shapes: lengthy, curved blue ones, some short, stocky and crimson. Some even sat on the side of complete oddity with golden bark and circular-shaped branches.
"Did I just step into a children's book?" He jokingly asked.
The plant life inhabiting the colorful jungle was no different, taking on obscure shapes and shades as he slowly traversed the corridors of trees. Above him, the tallest of the trees were so neatly snuggled up that their leaves formed a ceiling above his head, shielding his eyes from the abyssal sky of the floor.
Five more days. Just five more...I can do it, he thought.
An illusion of the daytime was made; fireflies were scattered around, clinging to the ceiling of leaves up above as if mimicking the orange rays of the sun, itself.
I wish I could've seen it with you. I'm sure you would've loved this place, no matter how cruel it was. That's the kind of person you are, Iris. You can...look past the bad. I guess that's how I landed myself at your side.
I'll just have to tell you all about this place once I bring you back, he thought.
Even as eye-catching as it all was, he stayed on his guard, keeping his hand stationed near the handle of his sword.
As he moved forward, a sweet smell resembling sugary candy met his nose, enticing his empty stomach as it growled from one whiff of the mysterious aroma.
What is that? He thought.
Somehow it was so potent that he was able to guide himself by smell alone, stepping over a moss-taken stone as he pushed through the array of oddly-shaped trees.
He found himself standing in front of an amber-petaled flower, with a white stem that granted it a height up to his knees. The pistil bore a yellow tinge, oozing a caramel-like liquid that produced the delectable scent.
"...Is it safe?" He whispered to himself.
Kneeling down in front of it, he gulped as he could feel just how empty his stomach was; so devoid of anything that it began to cramp up, resonating with a slight sickness through his body as he craved sustenance.
So sweet. It smells so, so, so, so sweet. Just one lick. One lick won't hurt, right? I'm just so hungry. I've never been this hungry in my life before. I could eat everything, anything--I don't care. One lick will be fine, he thought.
His vision became blurred and his heat hot as if running over with a building fever; every second he knelt there, contemplating on consuming the sweet smelling substance, he felt his resolve dwindle.
The scent completely held his sense; the sweetness made his mouth water so intensely that he drooled without noticing, overflowing like a flood against a dam.
"Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it," it was his voice, but not himself repeating this over and over in his head.
Closer and closer, he slowly leaned forward as his tongue out as he prepared to get a taste of the enticing liquid.
Just before he could savor the alluring sweetness just in front of his tongue, he was stopped by another voice in his head.
"Ren," it was a feminine, kind voice he could never forget. With the call of his name resonating through his mind, he briefly visualized the young man, recalling her flowing, wavy locks of an azure beauty.
"Iris…" He muttered, strained by building tears as he grabbed his own face.
It felt as if he just woke up in his body, though he was never unconscious; it was an inexplicable feeling of helplessness he awakened from.
Falling back, he shook his head as he looked at the sweet-secreting flower in a new light, disgusted at what transpired.
"That wasn't me…?! I don't know what just happened! I don't know! I...I almost did it. I had no control!" He grabbed his own head as he yelled out.
The delicate aroma was now sickening to him, making him want to spew out from his bowels as he pulled away while covering his nose with the collar of his coat.
Huffing as he found himself walking down a barely-visible trail in the vibrant jungle, he gulped as he wiped the saliva from his mouth.
I wasn't even able to react to the threat before it played with my mind. It completely ensnared me without me even realizing. I was lucky this time...shit, shit! How am I supposed to defend against things like this?! He thought.
Even if he rejected the allure of the mind-ensnaring flower, it didn't change the fact that was hungry in reality.
The combination of exhaustion and starvation was a deadly duo, one that hindered his own travels as he stepped to look around for anything edible. He was surrounded by plantlife, finding his eyes falling on a bush holding pink berries.
It was torture to his empty stomach; he knew there was no way he could risk eating anything naturally grown from the jungle, not after the close-call he just suffered.
"...I have to find something. An animal, a monster...I don't care--just something," he muttered weakly.
Wandering the humid jungle, pushing through sticky vines and avoiding malicious flowers, he walked with his stomach as his top priority.
I wonder how we'd be doing if everyone was still here right now. Hongse would still be eating up our supplies, and Valerie scolding. Jay would be napping whenever he got the chance, and when he didn't, he'd mess with Mencius, who is always so serious.
Aiko and Macheo would be shoulder-to-shoulder, with her always smiling at him, and the bashful prince doing his best to avoid direct eye-contact with her.
Iris and I would be at the front, smiling and laughing at the antics of everyone behind us.
Even in a place like this, we were able to laugh, he thought.
He smiled just a bit at these thoughts, though it was more painful than comforting as he shook his head slightly to regain his focus.
Just as he brought his gaze up, wiping some fallen leaves from his snow-white locks, an animalistic call echoed through the labyrinth of nature.
It sounded...like a monkey? He thought.
He wasn't one-hundred-percent sure, but it was his best guess as he stood still with a droplet of sweat trailing down his cheek. Naturally, his hand fell to the handle of his sword, gripping the handle tightly.
It was an impossible, unknown environment to keep watch of; looking around, the colorful mixture of trees only served to overload his senses.
Another monkey-like call resounded, sounding as if it was coming from all directions at once, but it was a singular shout.
Where is it coming from…?! He thought.
All he could do was stand there helplessly and defend the very spot he stood as he waited; the malicious, visceral shouts continued, growing closer and closer as they bounced from tree-to-tree.
From nothing, the leaf-and-vine covered floor began to vibrate beneath the soles of his dirtied boots as the distinct sound of branches being shaken under a heavy weight sounded out.
All at once, it felt like the jungle had come alive, as if reminding him of one thing: he wasn't welcome there.
It's coming! He thought.
--Thud.
It was directly behind him; a heavy weight had landed from his blindspot as the ferocity of the unseen entity could be felt tangibly.
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